The Budget leans on tourism, technology, trade calibration and fiscal discipline to anchor growth amid global uncertainty Mumbai: The new budget positions tourism as a key driver of jobs, forex earnings, and local growth. Incentives will back indigenous seaplane manufacturing through a Seaplane VGF Scheme, while a new National Institute of Hospitality will strengthen academia-industry-government linkages. A pilot programme will upskill 10,000 guides at 20 iconic sites with II

Nirmala Sitharaman opts for steadiness, backing manufacturing and infrastructure over headline-grabbing reform Mumbai: The Union Budget, often tracked for bold announcements, strikes a steadier tone this year. Amid global uncertainty, it avoids dramatic policy shifts, favouring a measured path. Manufacturing and MSMEs remain at the core, with tourism, healthcare, and IT services positioned as growth drivers. True to its deregulation tradition, the government has opted for cau

Teams don’t resist AI out of fear. They resist confusion. Last week’s column made one thing clear: AI is not a cure. It’s a diagnostic. On paper, most leaders nodded along.  Of course systems matter. Of course tools amplify gaps. But this week, let’s leave ideas aside and step into the shopfloor, the back office, the ops WhatsApp groups, the Excel sheets that are “almost correct”, and the people who are quietly trying to make AI work inside real businesses. Because when AI en

Every year on 1st February, the Union Budget captures the nation’s attention. From revised tax policies to increased spending in various sectors, people eagerly analyze every announcement, hoping for immediate benefits. While the national budget undeniably affects the broader economy, it's time to ask: are we giving it too much importance in our personal financial planning? Focusing solely on the Union Budget can pull us away from what truly matters - managing our own finance

There comes a point in a founder’s journey when success stops feeling celebratory and starts feeling weighty. The business is stable, the numbers are respectable, and the world sees achievement. Yet privately, many founders feel an unspoken exhaustion — the quiet awareness of what it took to get here. Years consumed by work. Relationships that adjusted without consent. Personal milestones postponed indefinitely. For some, this reality creates a strong instinct to retreat rath

In India, tax treaties are not mere guidelines—they form part of domestic law and can override statutory provisions when more beneficial to the taxpayer. In an era of globalised trade, digital services and multinational business models, conflicts between domestic tax laws and international tax treaties have become increasingly frequent. Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements (DTAAs) are intended to eliminate double taxation, allocate taxing rights between countries and provide

India’s budget arithmetic now depends more on taxpayers, dividends and discipline than windfalls. In 2025 India crossed a subtle but important threshold. The year marked not merely a continuation of post-pandemic recovery but a transition towards structural realignment. Domestic demand remained resilient even as global trade tensions, tariff barriers and slowing external growth clouded the horizon. What stood out was not immunity from shocks but adaptability. With real GDP ex

Last week, a founder in Thane said something I’ve heard in many forms before: “Just tell me which AI tool to buy. I want this chaos to reduce.” It was late at night. He wasn’t chasing transformation. He was exhausted. His day had been a loop of follow-ups, escalations, customer confusion, internal debates, and one more “urgent” that became urgent only because nothing moved on time. And then AI appears. A tool that writes, summarises, replies, plans. A tool that sounds calm an

On the eve of India’s Republic Day, we proudly remember the adoption of our Constitution - a document that gave structure, stability and direction to a young nation. It did not promise instant success, but it provided a framework strong enough to withstand crises, disagreements and change. Interestingly, the same philosophy applies to personal finance. Just as a nation cannot function without a Constitution, your money too needs a clear set of rules. Wealth is not built by ch

In today’s business landscape, success is often measured by scale, profitability and visibility. Founders who have built thriving companies are admired for their pace, ambition and the sheer volume of decisions they carry each day. Yet, increasingly, there is a subtle behavioural shift accompanying this success — one that rarely makes it to balance sheets but frequently determines long-term growth. Across industries, many accomplished business owners struggle with following u

The economy’s rare mix of growth, low inflation and big spending must give way to innovation or risk stalling. The Indian economy’s performance in 2025 confounded sceptics. Even as tariff threats from the United States loomed and global trade grew choppier, domestic consumption proved sturdy enough to carry growth beyond expectations. Inflation collapsed with startling speed as consumer prices slid from 4.26 percent in January to a record-low 0.25 percent in October, while wh

In India’s new tax regime, algorithms cannot be persuaded or negotiated with. India’s tax administration is undergoing a fundamental shift in both structure and approach. The traditional model—where scrutiny depended largely on human selection, discretionary judgement, and manual assessment—is steadily being replaced by a system driven by algorithms, artificial intelligence, and large-scale data analytics. This technology-led transformation has altered not only how tax author

India’s real estate sector appears to have regained its equilibrium in the final quarter of 2025, with stakeholder sentiment stabilising after a phase of moderation earlier in the year. The 47th edition of the Knight Frank–NAREDCO Real Estate Sentiment Index for Q4 2025 (October–December) indicates that both current and future outlooks remain firmly in the optimistic zone, underpinned by improving macroeconomic visibility, easing inflationary pressures and steady funding cond

Due to the lack of proper price discovery for silver across the world, a deal for the delivery of 900 kg of silver between the Government of India company "Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Limited" (SPMCIL), Hyderabad, and a Mumbai-based bullion firm named "Augmont  Enterprise Limited" has run into trouble, creating a huge  flutter in the Mumbai bullion market.   A silver bullion dealer from Mumbai said that silver traders across the country—including Mumbai

A few days ago, I was stuck near Ghodbunder Road in one of those slow, crawling patches where the car keeps moving, but you still don’t feel like you’re getting anywhere. That’s the best metaphor I can offer for many business owners I meet. Everything is moving. Everyone is busy. Calls, approvals, meetings, follow-ups, WhatsApp messages, late-night fixes. The day is full. The week is full. And yet… progress feels strangely flat. As we step into 2026, it’s worth asking a blunt

As the recent municipal elections come to a close, one powerful lesson stands out: every vote matters. Local leadership, in particular, plays a critical role in shaping infrastructure, public services, and the overall quality of life. In many ways, the same principle applies to personal finance, where the right decisions made today can significantly influence future outcomes. Collective Decisions Election results underline the value of individual participation. Every citizen

Walk into any business networking room and you will witness something far more telling than exchanged cards or polite handshakes. You will see personal brands at work — quietly, powerfully, and often unintentionally. The way a business owner carries himself, engages with others, and competes for attention in public spaces reveals more about future growth than balance sheets ever will. At a recent networking meet, two business owners from the same industry stood out — not beca

By 2026–27, the real conflict in taxation will be between what people declare and what algorithms believe they earn. India’s tax system is undergoing a quiet yet far-reaching transformation. For decades, taxation revolved around what a taxpayer disclosed and what an assessing officer could confirm through paperwork and manual scrutiny. That framework is steadily being replaced by a technology-led model, where income is no longer just declared but inferred from vast streams of

As the calendar turns to 2026, many founders and second-generation leaders I speak with sound calmer than they did a year ago. They’ve cut back. Fewer initiatives. Fewer meetings. Fewer “urgent” priorities. On the surface, it looks like maturity. And yet, a strange discomfort remains. Teams seem slower, not sharper. Decisions feel hesitant, not thoughtful. People are doing less but not with confidence. This is the hidden tension many Indian SMEs are carrying into the new year

The recent stock market slowdown may have made you nervous. But there is good news - it does not last long, just like your New Year’s resolutions. Every year, countless people set New Year’s resolutions, vowing to change habits and achieve certain goals. Yet, studies show that most resolutions fade very soon. In the world of investing, stock market volatility and corrections share a similar story - they make headlines, cause momentary jitters, but often do not last long. Comm